Stranger
by Senzafine
Summary: While left behind with a sick Aya, Omi's thoughts are finally freed to wander among the shattered remains of a broken lovelife. And a spark for a new one is starting to fire up. [one-shot, completed]


Note: This one-shot will make abosluty NO sense if you do not know the whole deal with Aya-chan and her brother. Outside from that, I finally came around to writing my first romance fic! Its a classic boy falling for girl fic, but I tried really hard to make it intresting. ^-^ I aim to please. Oh, I also tried to give Omi more of an edge, so there's a quite a bit of swearing in here as well.   
  
Stranger  
  
Key:   
~ denotes thoughts   
  
"Please leave a message at the tone of the bleep."   
"Bleep" "Hey, you awake over there, kid?! Its me Yoji. Listen, don't screw around this weekend. You got triple duty, so don't slack off, and DO NOT GO INTO MY ROOM!" "Bleep."   
  
"Please leave a message at the tone of the bleep."   
"Bleep" "Omi? Aya's sick as you may already know. Her medicine is in the cabinet, and the doctor's number is on the fridge. And Omi? I'm trusting you, so don't make a move on my sick sister, okay? That was a command, not a request!" "Bleep."   
  
"Please leave a message at the tone of the bleep."  
"Bleep" "Omi-chan? Its me, Momoe. I'm so happy that you boys decided to accompany me on this trip. I'll make sure that Ken, Ran and Yoji-chan get plenty of healthy food, so you shouldn't worry. I left plenty for you and Aya-chan as well." "Bleep"   
  
"Bleep" "Good morning, Omi! You SHOULD be awake but I guess you're not! Ah, sorry about all the bullshit that Ran and Yoji are feeding you. They're just freaked about the big job we got to cover. I bet ya, you're going to have an easier time then we are. Every flower has to be this color. I'm telling you, the groom looks like a fag. You would ha-" "Bleep"   
  
"Please leave a message at the tone of the bleep."  
"Bleep" "DAMNIT! We need a LONGER answering machine. Anyway, I'm off to Kyoto. Hope you have fun back in Tokyo. I left some food money on the table and there's junk food that I hid from Momoe in the cabinet. Don't eat it all, okay? Call me if you need anything." "Bleep"   
  
"Please leave a message at the tone of the bleep."   
"Bleep." "Oh yeah, Omi? I know you're trying to get some sleep BUT WAKE UP!!!!!!!! Ran told me to tell you that." "Bleep"   
  
~ Geez, those guys. I can't even sneak in an extra wink without them bothering me. Its Saturday. Most people my age won't even CONSIDERING waking up at this hour. Damn punks. I should just fuck all my duties. ~   
  
The hands on the clock ticked away the seconds when suddenly, the alarm exploded. His hand reached out from under the covers and groggy, his hands ran over the desk until it touched the clock. With a grunt, he slammed the clock onto the floor to silence it. Yawning, he turned over and recover his head with his blanket.   
  
~ Damn damn damn. Even when Ran's not around, he STILL sets my alarm to five. What is his problem? Was that some sort of joke? ~   
  
His ears suddenly picked up a noise from down the hall. "Omi-san? Omi-san?" A fit of coughing followed the desperate plead as Omi grunted again and re-wrapped himself in the shroud of blankets he covered himself in.   
  
~ This is the FIFTH time she woke me up. This is getting on my nerves. How sick can she be. I mean really? Let me sleep, Aya-chan, please....... I didn't get to sleep until four fucking o'clock! ~   
  
As if she read Omi's mind, Aya's coughing subsided and Omi turned in his bed, his mind about to drift off into space, a smile gently playing on his angelic face.   
  
~ Ken's not here, so no guitar or fighting lessons today. I can be a bum! YES! I can catch up on my teenage years where I was suppose to be a bum but chose not to. And since there's no Yoji, I can keep the Pocky to myself. This day might be better then I thought it would be. ~   
  
Omi's thoughts where then interrupted as Aya started coughing harder. "OMI-SAN!"   
  
~ Oh for crying out loud! She's faking it. ~   
He paused as he heard Aya coughing again, this time harder.   
  
~ Maybe not. Okay okay, I'm getting up, Aya-chan! ~   
"Coming!" he cried out as he got up from the bed, and pulled on a tank top. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Omi jammed his feet inside his worn flip-flops and scuffled down the hall, yawning as he did so.   
  
~ Do not kill her, Tsukiyono. Do not kill her. She's sick. She doesn't MEAN to wake you up. She's sick. Do not kill her, Tsukiyono. Do not... ~   
  
Omi leaned his hand against the door frame as he peered inside Aya's room. "Yes, Aya-chan, you rang?"   
  
Aya let out a small laugh before she started to cough again as Omi took a step back into the dark hallway. "Okay, okay, Aya-chan, let me read your mind. I'll get the medicine."   
  
~ I'm playing slave again. Aya's using me, but I guess its okay. If I was sick, I'll probably have both her, Ken AND Yoji wrapped around my fingers. I'll wake up Yoji in the dead of night for the hell of it like Aya does to me. ~   
  
Omi leaned against Aya's bed as he watched Aya gulped down her cough medicine. "Um..... Aya-chan, slow down. If you don't know, medicines are drugs too, so don't get addicted." Aya turned to him, her eyebrow arched slightly over her left eye, a sign of sure anger. "Addicted, Omi-san? I'm sick."   
  
~ Well duh, Aya-chan! Of course you're sick. I already knew that. Don't be such a bitch. But you do look horrible. Poor Aya-chan. ~   
  
"Poor Aya-chan." Omi smiled when suddenly, Aya's face turned green. "Get out of my way!" She jumped off the bed and pushed Omi as she rushed into the bathroom, dropping the medicine bottle in Omi's lap. Sounds of Aya's vomiting reached Omi's ears as he made a grimace.   
  
~ Oh, that's attractive. Sexy chicks who throw up the moment you smile at them. And Yoji calls me Prince Charming. What a joke. ~   
  
Omi slowly lowered himself to Aya's sky blue covered bed. He looked around the room and smiled at the sight of the soft white curtains and flower vases, stuffed animals and posters, everything that showed Aya's feminine side.   
  
~ What a room. I feel like I'm transported into another world. So this is how Aya reassures herself that she has a 'normal' life? Admit it, Tsukiyono. You like it, it makes you comfortable. Comfortable to be in this room. And you haven't been comfortable in a long time. ~   
  
"Omi-san! What the hell did you give me? That taste like rat posion then medicine. Are you trying to kill me? What have I done to YOU? Omi-san, what the he-"   
  
Aya's sentence was cut off as she burst into the room only to find Omi standing in front of her dresser, holding in his hand a faded photograph lovingly framed in a silver engraved photo frame. Aya watched as Omi's slender fingers ran against the border of the frame, his blue eyes lost in thought.   
  
~ She kept this picture. It was just a joke but she kept it anyway. I'm never going to understand her. ~   
  
"That's my favorite picture of you guys." Omi turned at the sound of Aya's voice and blushing, he placed the picture back onto the dresser. Turning to face Aya, he clasped his hands behind his back before he spoke.   
  
"Oh, well, Ran asked us to pose for it. The camera he was using was just a crap piece of junk and Ken and I thought that it would explode before he took one picture.. It was a joke, but I guess it wasn't true. Ran said he was giving the picture to you as a gift. And you kept it."   
  
"Of course I would keep it. Ran said he need me to get a good look at my new family before I moves in with you guys."   
  
"Ran said that?"  
Aya nodded as she crept back in bed, and wrapped herself up in the blankets. "Yep. You never knew he thought of you, and Ken-san and Yoji-san as his family?"   
  
~ Family? Ran? The guy who never talks? Who can't fucking look at me straight in the eye when he DOES talk to me? Stupid me. I didn't give Ran enough credit. He's human after all.  
....  
I guess. ~  
"Omi-san?" piped up Aya as Omi started to walk out of her room. Turning so that the sunlight would catch against Omi's cheek, Omi replied gruffly, "Yea?"   
  
"If I call out for you, will you answer?"   
~ What kind of shit question is that? No, I'm busy jerking off in the toilet. No, I'm checking out the asses of chicks walking the streets. Aya-chan.... ~   
  
"Yea, of course. Why'd you ask?"  
  
"Just to make sure. Thanks, Omi. I'm going to sleep, okay?"   
  
~ Don't have the same restless sleep like me. Don't have the same nightmares. ~   
  
"Sweet dreams Aya-chan."   
~ Pick, bundle, tie a ribbon, set aside. Pick, bundle, tie a ribbon, set aside. Pick, bundle, tie a ribbon, set aside. And Aya wonders why I tend to repeat myself when I'm speaking. She still doesn't know that we all do it, even her darling brother. She doesn't know that me and Ken, Yoji and Ran are all just repeating our lives day after day. And if I told her, she'll say, its fucked. And then I would have to say, It is but you can't change a damn thing about it. ~  
~But its not as if I didn't try before. ~  
Omi's fingers flew over his work as the city started to roar to life. Flowers needed to be picked and wrapped, plants to be watered, cuttings to be transferred, floral arrangements to be made. Even when the shop's closed to its customers, flowers and plants demanded care and attention or else -   
  
~ Wither away and die. Like my life. Who the hell is giving me love and affection? Who the hell cares for me? Ken maybe. But he's busy with other things in his life. For one thing. ~   
  
Omi picked up the single dead hyacinth from the whole bunch and looked at its browned leaves and flowers.   
  
~ He doesn't get pushed around by every fucking person in this world. Sometimes I feel like pissing on every person who asks me for a favor. I'm sick of it. ~ Omi slowly crushed one of the hyacinth's blossoms with his right hand.   
  
~ I want to change so badly. ~   
He then dropped the dead flower and turned to the counter, where boxes of packages flowers stood, clustered together, his own arms filled with bouquets. His hair was matted to his forehead with sweat, because since sun up, he was busy at the front of "Kitty in the House." Dropping the bouquets in an empty box, Omi leaned against the counter and ran a hand through his hair.   
  
~ But you know you don't have the balls to do it, Tsukiyono. ~   
He glanced at himself in the mirror and made a face at the pretty face that reflected itself back to him.  
  
~ Besides with a face like that, who would believe that I'm a tough guy? Cursed as always. ~   
  
"Baby, you tore out my heart  
And left me in splinters on the floor  
Why'd you come back here   
Knocking at my door  
  
Don't ya know?  
I'm not who I used to be  
My eyes are clouded with tears  
And the pain you refused to see....."  
  
Aya rolled restlessly on her bed as she tossed and turned. The music blared from down the hall and she couldn't even hear herself think. "Omi-san!" she cried out as the walls started to vibrate with the beat of the music. "Turn it down, please!" she screamed as her head started to ring.   
  
"... So bring down romance   
You know you couldn't take the heat  
Bring down love  
Turn this hell into a one way street   
  
You danced the night away  
Blue suede shoes and tight little dress  
I cried the night away  
Old coffee and the kitchen's a mess  
  
Bring down romance  
Didn't do a thing for me  
Bringin' down romance  
Only gave me a misery........"  
  
~ I should stop listening to sad depression music. But the song's tight, and it makes me proud to be a strong hater of romance. I'm sick of trying to find someone. After Ouka died... I can't look at another girl the same way I looked at her. Bring down romance, so I can prevent more losers like me who once believed in love only for it to be ripped away. ~   
  
Omi pried off the sweater he wore and fell back unto his bed bare-chested, and arms spread. Staring up at the ceiling, Omi blinked and made a face.   
  
~ Its all fucked up. Ran got love easily, but he looks like the type to stand alone -   
And survive.  
  
Me, I'm not like that. I need love but who's going to give it to me? I'm sick of looking. ~   
  
Omi rolled onto his stomach as he buried his head within his arms.   
  
~ I'm sick of trying and losing. I'm sick of this endless cycle. ~   
  
Omi suddenly sat up and clasped his knees to his chest, breathing gently as he listened for the sound of Aya's voice over the loud volume of his radio.   
  
~ But that girl Aya. I couldn't stop thinking about her all day long. What is up with me? Do I have a crush on her? Ne, Ken-kun, didn't you tell me things get easier from this point on? Were you telling the truth or did you wish to play the part of a- ~   
  
Suddenly, Aya burst into Omi's room and before Omi could even react, she pulled the plug from Omi's CD player, and turned to him, her eyes slanted in anger.   
  
"LAIR! You promise you'll answer me if I called. You are the biggest jerk I EVER met!"   
  
"Jerk?!" Omi jumped from the bed and stood up to Aya, his hands on his hips. "Who's the one who just barged in here without knocking first?"   
  
"WHAT THE HELL! WHO CARES!!!!!!!"  
"What if I was looking at my porn collection or jacking off? Would you like to barge in while I'm in the middle of that?"   
  
Aya let out a laugh before she turned back to Omi and brought a finger towards his face. "Listen, you're more innocent then I am. Like hell you're doing something like that. Look at the music you listen to! That's not jacking off music!"   
  
"Like you would know!" Omi turned his back on Aya and started to tap his foot. "I'm counting to five. If you DO NOT plug in that radio, I'm warning you, you're going to get the beating of your life."   
  
Aya suddenly tapped Omi's shoulder as she sweetly spoke, "You won't beat me." Omi let out a grunt as he arched an eyebrow towards her. "Wanna bet?"   
  
"Cause I'm going to beat YOU if you don't let me sleep!"   
  
Just as Omi turned around to completely face Aya, Aya withdrew a package from her robe. "Here, I thought you would get hungry." She took Omi's hand within her own, and placed the package onto his open palm.   
  
"Wha-?" Omi's eyes soften as Aya smiled sweetly up at him, her hand still clasping his wrist. "I didn't want you to die." She then eyed the room and smiled sweeter then an angel and replied, "But now that you plaid that shit music so loud, I DO hope you die." before she stomped out of the room, so hard that her slippers left indents on Omi's spotless, lint free carpet.   
  
~Maybe not ~   
"I can't do a damn thing, Ken-kun. If I play music, she says its too loud. When I made her soup, she says its too ewwy."   
  
"Ewwy?"   
"Yeah, I'm using her word here. If I try to cheer her up, she thinks I'm sucking up to her. If I try to kid around with her, she thinks I'm trying to make a move. If I try to get her too eat, she says I'm implying that she's too skinny. If I try to tell her to stop eating junk food, she says that I think she's too fat. She gives me Pocky and mochi and tells me to drop dead. I'm having a horrible time over here, Ken-kun."   
  
Omi cradled the phone closer to his ear as he looked over his shoulder to his now closed door.   
  
"Its quiet on the battlefront, but I know, any minute now, she's going to barge in and yell at me. You just wait and see, Ken-kun."   
  
"Omi, you're a dork. And you're paranoid. You're a paranoid dork. If I was you, and a girl as cute as Aya is bothering me, I'll jump onto my bed and say 'Take me, take me now'."   
  
Omi let out a noise that sounded very much like a gag as he reached for a packet of Pocky that laid on his dresser.   
  
"And you're calling ME a dork? You know, I thought I knew Aya, that she's as quiet and as innocent as any typical Japanese schoolgirl. But by the way she's bitchin on me, I don't know anymore, Ken-kun."   
  
Omi bite into a Pocky as he turned up the volume on his CD Player, the song, "Datenshi BLUE" blasting on high before he turned back to the phone.   
  
"So how was your weekend?"   
"Tiring. Yoji's asleep on MY side of the bed. Get this, the hotel that we're suppose to stay in is overbook, so me and Yoji and Ran along with Momoe-san are staying in ONE room, where there's only a couch and a queen bed."   
  
Omi let out a laugh as he shook his head.   
  
"Sleeping with Yoji. Yew..... poor Ken-kun. I would much rather put up with -"   
  
His sentence was cut off as Aya started to yell over the music. "OMI!!!!! TURN IT OFF OR I'LL THROW THE DAMN THING OUT THE WINDOW!"   
  
Omi made a face as the sounds of Ken's laughing came loud and clear over the phone.   
  
"What a girl."   
Omi pushed the volume down, so that the music barely streamed over the speakers. He turned to the closed door and let out a yell.   
  
"Oh, Aya-darling, would you like to say hi to beloved Ken-kun who still thinks of you as a girl and not some PMSing tomboy?"   
  
"HI KEN-SAN! I HOPE RAN-NITSAN IS TREATING YOU BETTER THEN OMI-SAN IS TREATING ME! I WOULD RATHER BE IN PRISON THEN BE HERE!"   
  
Ken's laugh echoed off the room's walls as Omi turned to his bed, yelling over his shoulder, "I hate you Aya."   
  
"I hate you too Omi!"   
Omi dropped onto his bed, rolling to one side so that he could cradled the phone with one shoulder and hold his Pocky at the same time.   
  
"See what I have to put up with?"   
Ken's laugh was happy as he replied, "You two are complete idiots. Hope you didn't have too much fun over the weekend. Well, Omi, I have to tell you something. We're coming back home on Tuesday, not Sunday. Sorry about that."   
  
"NO!!!!!! TWO MORE DAYS OF AYA ALONE! And I thought you liked me, Ken-kun."   
  
"You screwy nut-head. My change's about to run out. I'll call and check up on you guys tomorrow whenever I get a break."   
  
It was only then that Omi noticed how tired the older boy's voice sounded, and his eyes soften. slightly, his voice lowering to a gentle tone. "Don't work too hard, Ken-kun. Tell Ran, Yoji and Momoe-chan that too."   
  
"I will, Omi. Boy, if I didn't know any better, I would think..." His voice trailed off as Omi stained to catch the rest of his words.   
  
"You would think what?"  
"That you and Aya were complete strangers, meeting each other for the first time."   
  
~ Strangers? Aya and me? I known her almost as long as I known you, Ken-kun. ~   
  
The sun set slowly and darkness descended into the city. The wind started to blow lightly through the crack in the open wind, and the smell of rain floated into the room. The CD player continued to play almost unheard music as Omi laid motionless on his bed, still holding onto the closed phone.   
  
~ Why does that bother me so? The word, stranger. Its sounds so cruel. Am I really a stranger like Ken-kun perceives me to be? Or am I only a stranger to Aya, and not to him? I don't like that word. Stranger, as if a person doesn't exist. They're a stranger.... not a person at all. ~   
  
Aya was just drifting off to sleep when a knock sounded at her door. "Humph? If its you, Omi, I still haven't forgiven you for trying to poison me. Leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep here." The lights suddenly flicked on and Aya's eyes squinted away the light. "I'm trying to sleep to, Aya."   
  
Omi walked into her room and closed the door behind him. His eyes were both sleepy and observant, as if he was in thought for a long time. His brown hair was slightly ruffled and he was still dressed only in jeans and an unbuttoned dress shirt.   
  
"Can't sleep, either, can't ya, Omi?" Aya was about to sit up when Omi shook his head. "Nope. I need something."   
  
Aya sat up, her long black hair was loose from her usual braids, so that it fell past her shoulders, curling slightly in soft tendrils around her pale face. She tied her robe tighter around herself as Omi sat himself on the edge of her bed.   
  
"Aya, can I ask you something? I mean, something important."   
  
Aya nodded as Omi leaned close to her.   
~ Its now or never. Do it and be a champion. Yeah right, whatever. ~   
  
"Do you know how to dance?"  
Aya blinked as she shook her head. "Nope, not really."   
  
"Do you want me to teach you?"  
Without a second word, Omi grabbed Aya's hand and gently pulled her off the bed. He held her close as he guided her hands to wrap around one side of his waist, while the other was at his left shoulder.   
  
"Okay, let me lead you. And then you'll follow."   
  
~ Oh god, please let her follow me. I want her to follow me. I need her.... more then anything. And if she doesn't, I'm blaming Ken-kun. ~   
  
Aya's feet barely touched the carpet before Omi twirled. Gracefully, both her and Omi glided over the carpet, Aya watching Omi's face, following every motion Omi made without the slightest hesitation.   
  
~ Aya-chan.... you and I are lonely. You tried to hide it from me for the longest time. I tried to make it disappear on my own. We need each other... more then anyone else in this world. But I'm not going to rush it. ~   
  
Omi watched as Aya closed her eyes and leaned her head gently on Omi's shoulder. "Aya-chan?" His voice sounded gruff, as if his throat has receive its first breath of water in years. "Aya-chan?" He gently laid his hand on her head as Aya blinked suddenly.   
  
"Omi-san?" Her voice sounded as if she just awakened from a dream. "Omi-san!" Her cheeks burned pink as she saw how tightly Omi was holding her to him, as if he never wanted to let her go. She let out a startled cry and let the hand that linger near Omi's face drop slowly to her side.   
  
"I'm sorry, Aya. I shouldn't have kept you up." His breath touched her cheek, and a wave of emotion overtook Aya's body. Trembling, Aya separated from Omi's touch, her hand glazing against Omi's cheek. Pulling back as if it burned him, Omi took a step back, dazzled and bewildered.   
  
"I'm heading back to bed. Goodnight Aya."  
"You do that. Goodnight, Omi."   
~ Aya. Someday, I'm going to find a way to tell you everything I feel. But I still don't know for myself what I am. But when I do... you'll be the first to know. ~   
  
The sun's rays barely lit the horizon and the stars were wrapping themselves with the dark sky. A lone bird started to sing softly as Omi reached for the phone. He dialed a number and waited when a very sleepy and groggy voice replied.   
  
"Moshi moshi?"  
"Ken-kun?!"   
"Omi, I'm going to beat you. You know what time it is?"  
His heart pounded and rose to his throat as Omi leaned over the phone.   
  
"Ken-kun...... I finally got to dance."  
"Dance? Dance with who?"  
  
Omi's smile was genuine as he laid back on to the bed, the phone cradled close to his ear.   
  
"With a stranger." 


End file.
